CH 36

The full moon lit up the streets as a bulky man and a bulky boy walked along the sidewalk. Their hands were inside their jackets as the cold night wind made it hard to have their skin face the open. The man was looking towards the front where a building complex was. He looked towards the upper right corner of the building where the lights were still on even though it was already 11 in the evening.

"You know Matty, I never had a day where I get to go home this early whenever I had to go overtime. Thank you again for helping me son." Billy was about to head inside when he remembered to thank the young man once again. It was time they went their own ways, so he was feeling so emotional that tears once again threatened to fall from his eyes.

'What a crybaby.'

"Don't worry about it pops, I'll see you tomorrow." Matthew was also feeling his eyes water but held it together while shrugging his shoulders.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow."

The two said their goodbyes and went to their respective apartments. The only thing was, they were heading the same way. The two were not talking to each other as Billy lead the way while Matthew followed.

"..."

"..."

Billy wondered if the young man was following him again but decided not to think about it because he might just be in the same way. Meanwhile, Matthew was hesitating whether to talk to Billy again but felt it was too weird to talk to someone you just said goodbye to.

They walked all the way from the first floor to the sixth floor. Billy could hear a gasping voice behind him while he was sweating up a storm. It seems the work from earlier was now taking it's toll as he felt his legs giving out from the exhaustion from the excruciating stairs. But he held it together, never showing his weak side to the young man. He was forcing himself to stand tall when he realized that the steps behind him have stopped.

Billy then heard a click behind him as he turned around and watched Matthew open a door that was right beside the stairs. The young man was showing a tired and weary expression so he can't help but smile at the thought of him losing that composed look.

Matthew opened the door to his brand-new apartment. It's a small apartment that had one bed, one comfort room and a small kitchen. It's a small place for a small rent, nothing out of the ordinary except for the wall of weapons that's in display as the wall-mounted foldable bed was in the wall right now.

The weapons consisted of a couple hand guns, a bladed sword, one rifle and five combat knives. Right at the bottom were a pair of combat armor that covered the torso and one set of grenades which contained three in total.

Matthew went to the bed and pulled it down, concealing the weapons again. He used a box that held a few of his clothes, opting to use it as a place to place his coat and other clothes as he stripped down to his underwear. He was about to take that off too but decided not to, if he had to fight tonight then he'd rather go in his underwear than naked.

He looked at the corners of the room and at the single window that was provided for him. The blinds were open, so he hurriedly closed them while opening it just a little watching for any suspicious thing outside. This lasted for a whole minute before he left the window and hopped right to bed. He never felt more tired, sorer than when he did today. Perhaps the training he had wasn't really all that useful when you consider that this was a rather repetitive movement-based work and not the more quick thinking movements he used to do. Still, he had met a new friend today which was more than he had hoped for. He was thinking about it without realizing he had fallen asleep.

...

Meanwhile, back in Billy's apartment.

A sixteen-year-old girl was watching TV on a couch when the door opened. She looked at the door with her clear blue eyes while waiting to see if it was her father. When the giant man wearing a coat came in, she stood up and ran into him.

"Welcome back daddy!" Kylie gave her father a warm hug and then pulled him towards the table.

"Oh sweetie, I'm sorry I had to work late again." Billy felt all his pain go away as soon as she had given him an embrace. He only felt regret that he couldn't afford to give her a phone so that he can tell her if he was going home early or late.

"It's fine daddy, I was also studying for an exam tomorrow so don't mention it. I had to stay up late, anyway." Kylie pointed at the coffee table where a stack of books and an open notebook was lying. She then sat across their kitchen table where two plates, two bowls, two cups and a pair of spoon and forks were arranged.

"I cooked your favorite! Beef stew!" She took one plate for herself then one in front of her as she started to take some rice from one bowl and a ladle of stew from the other.

"With carrots and potatoes?" Billy sat on the other seat after removing his coat and backpack and placing them on the couch. The stress building up on his body seemed to have receded. He picked up the spoon and fork while watching Kylie fill up his plate.

"Of course! It's wouldn't be complete if it didn't!"

The two ate away everything. Billy was done before she was as her took a third of the food while he had her eat everything else. The minute the meal was over, he stood up and took both of their plates and the other wares and started to wash the dishes while Kylie continued to study.

"You take a rest now sweetie, it's bad for you to stay up too late."

"Okc daddy."

Billy watched as his daughter went into her room, he gave a small smile that turned into a frown as he thought a little more about what his plans were and couldn't help but be worried.

.....

"Good morning, Son!"

"Good morning, Pops!"

The duo met again when Matthew was about to walk down the stairs. Matthew turned around and saw that Billy was beside a beautiful young woman. Her bright blue eyes and brown hair were giving him gentle vibes as her smile radiated out a calming presence. She looked at him and her father while smiling as she had not known that her father found a friend. She passed by her father and went to Matthew's side which made him step away a little.

"Hello, I'm Kylie Benson. Thank you for taking care of my father!" The girl suddenly gave Matthew a bow and he didn't know what to do. Billy was watching the scene with glee and laughed as he went forward.

"Hahaha, see? Isn't my daughter the best?"

"Um..." Matthew just scratched the back of his neck. He was about to agree but didn't think it was appropriate to comment on a person right in front of them. He then took a bow himself.

"Your father helped me yesterday as well. Thank you for the sandwich, it was delicious." Matthew straightened his back while giving a gentle smile. Kylie looked at him with surprise and giggled while walking back to her father.

"Oh? So you decided to share now?"

"Ehem."

Billy wasn't exactly truthful when he said that Kylie wanted him to share. She was someone who knew her father best, so his appetite was something she considered when preparing his meals. The fact that he was willing to share showed how much he cared for the boy. But she didn't know that they had only just met when he gave one away on a whim so that he could eat the rest.

"I'm heading out first, Pops!"

"Wait!" Kylie went down the stairs as her uniform skirt flew showing a little of her skin, but no one cared. It's a young girl after all. She ran down so fast that Billy couldn't help but worry.

"Bye, daddy!"

"Oh, bye sweetie." Billy gave her a wave goodbye. He didn't understand why she was in such a hurry but shrugged it off anyway. It was true that she wasn't exactly early so it would be better if he hurried up.

"Let's go?"

"Yeah."

The two went over the construction site to work again.

This peace lasted for a few months. Sometimes they would have to stay late due to a request from Chris and Max but since it was work meant for one, they did it fast enough as two. All the while, Matthew felt that his wounds have already healed, and the thing in his heart was already starting to do its thing. But right now, he didn't care. He had a party to attend to, after all.

"Happy birthday to you! Happy birthday to you! Yeah! Happy birthday, daddy!" Kylie was holding on to a small mango cake as she protected the three lit small candles on top. Billy who was in front of her was all smiles as he closed his eyes and then blew on the candles.

"Yehey!"

A round of applause was heard though it was only the three of them. Billy, Kylie and Matthew. Matthew took to the table where a few dishes were served. The two others laughed when they saw his drooling face that screamed 'I'm hungry'.

"Take it easy son, there's a lot of food here."

"Yeah, take it easy Matty!" Kylie took the rice bowl and passed it around after she took a portion for herself.

The party lasted a couple hours and Matthew went back to his room soon after. Before he left, he was called by Billy who was still happy because of the love he felt today.

"Thank you for coming son, I mean it."

"Oh please, Pops. It was my pleasure. Your daughter's cooking is still the best!"

"Haha!" Billy took the compliment to heart. After all, he was the first fan of his daughter's cooking. The fact that it was being acknowledged by someone else made him feel gratified.

"Matty! Take this back with you!" A running Kylie took a bowl with a plate over it and gave it to the confused Matty. He lifted the plate and saw that it was filled with the Butter Chicken that he ate a lot a while ago.

"Thank you Kylie, you're the best!" Matthew felt glad that he was given this, the Butter Chicken was his favorite after all. The fact that Kylie understood that without asking him showed that she was observing him.

"Don't mention it, we had too much anyway." Kylie just waved her hand in dismissal, giving him a tender smile as she did.

"I'll be going back now."

"Ok, take care!"

"I'm right down the hall!" Matthew was already walking down when she gave him a wish for good journey but it was literally only a few steps away so he couldn't help but tell her the fact.

"Still, be careful." A bashful Kylie whispered, but it seems she was still heard by Matthew as he replied back.

"Haha, alright! Alright!" The care she was giving was enough for Matthew to feel better. He wanted to thank her again but felt it was too much to go back after saying goodbye.

Billy watched as the two talked. He couldn't help but feel the two were becoming closer and just gave a small smile. He wasn't going to influence any of them, they were both able to handle their relationship themselves. He went back inside and lied down on the couch to take a well-deserved rest.

'Oh, the dishes!' He remembered that he had quite a few plates to wash but decided to do them after waking up. He was dozing off when he felt a buzz from the pocket on his pants. He looked down to find out who it was, and he couldn't help but frown.

(Max)

-Hey Billy, Chris and Phil can't work tomorrow. Take care of it will you?